Development of an active-matrix "HEED" cold cathode and its application to an image sensor

For practical advantages of the HEED (high-efficiency electron emission device) such as a low driving voltage, a high emission current density, especially application to an ultra high sensitive compact image sensor can be expected. A prototype active-matrix HEED image sensor integrated with scanning driver circuits was developed with a HARP (High-gain avalanche rushing amorphous photoconductor) target. It was demonstrated that the prototype 256 × 192 pixels active-matrix HEED array operates well as an effective probe for high-resolution image pickup under dim lighting. The possibility of the active-matrix HEED for development of next-generation image sensor with ultra high sensitivity and high definition was concluded in this report.